The present invention relates to devices for mounting machine elements on shaft members or the like by means of a clamping device.
The device may be used e.g. in splines couplings or friction couplings for shaft connections, i.e. in applications where an element is to be connected to a shaft which is arranged in a bore in the element.
Clamping joints of various kinds are known in the art. They generally comprise a number of relatively movable elements with conical co-operating sliding surfaces, or a sleeve-like element with a longitudinal slot whose width can be adjusted by a screw which extends across the slot, as shown in e.g. Swedish Pat. No. 225,621. Devices of the first mentioned type comprise a plurality of parts which must be manufactured very accurately and require careful handling. Furthermore, the coupling element is usually displaced axially during mounting, which may constitute a disadvantage. Devices of the last mentioned type comprise an element which is asymmetrical in relation to the central axis and is deformed asymmetrically during mounting, which causes unbalance problems in applications in which fast rotation of the shaft occurs and the elements are large and heavy in order to be able to transmit great forces.
Known devices may possibly comprise a separate sleeve or ring which surrounds and constitutes a clamping member for a resiliently deformable portion of an otherwise rigid member which is to be connected to a shaft or the like, but the member must in that case be designed in a special way in order to allow deformation, and the loose sleeve makes a complication of the coupling device.